Chinese advanced air mobility (AAM) company EHang has completed trial pilotless air taxi flights in Qatar.

These included point-to-point and human-carrying flights with its EH216-S pilotless electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the core district of Doha.

Conducted in partnership with Qatar’s Ministry of Transport, these point-to-point flights between the port of Doha and the Katara Cultural Village, a prominent landmark in the heart of the city, represent the first urban flights of a pilotless eVTOL aircraft in the Middle East, setting a benchmark for the future of AAM across the region.

The route served as proof of concept for an aerial shuttle service connecting transport hubs with key urban destinations. More than just a test flight, it showed a model for intermodal connectivity, seamlessly linking maritime and aerial transport to bypass ground congestion, transforming a 30-minute car journey into a sustainable, eight-minute flight.

These flights marked the first point-to-point flight of the EH216-S pilotless eVTOL in an urban environment in the Middle East. It should provide references for civil aviation regulators in the Middle East and other countries worldwide to formulate and promote the improvement of policies and regulations, strengthen the confidence of operators of the EH216-S, and accelerate the global commercialisation of EHang’s pilotless human-carrying eVTOLs.

Qatar minister of transport Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulla bin Mohammed Al Thani described the trial operation as a milestone in the state of Qatar’s journey of adopting smart and sustainable mobility and constituted an advanced step forward towards a future enabled by innovation and environment-friendly technologies.

Victoria Jing Xiang, chief operating officer for EHang (www.ehang.com), added, “These ground-breaking flights mark the first-ever trial operations of a pilotless eVTOL aircraft for passenger transport in a Middle Eastern city centre. We sincerely thank the MoT and the Civil Aviation Authority of Qatar for their vision, support and trust. Together, we are building a safe, intelligent and efficient regional AAM ecosystem.”

These flights are intended to pave the way for an alliance between EHang and the MoT of Qatar to jointly develop and deploy AAM. The pilotless air taxi project will be carried out in several consecutive phases, considering all relevant technical, operational and regulatory requirements. This includes infrastructure readiness, approval of operational systems, and meeting safety, security and quality standards to ensure the mobility system can be safely and effectively integrated into the nation’s mobility network. Key focus areas for future development will include shuttle services between the airport and urban centres; air taxi corridors serving tourism and high-traffic zones; and integration of eVTOL systems into Qatar’s multimodal transport strategy.

With this milestone, the MoT of Qatar (www.mot.gov.qa) will continue assessing the test results and lay down the regulatory and technical frameworks needed for approving and operating that type of mobility in line with best international standards and in a way that enhances Qatar’s position as a global hub in adopting smart and sustainable technologies.